Griffin iTrip Auto - Review
I was wanting to play my iPod in the car and went looking for possible products. I have an iPod Video (5th Generation iPod) and ended up buying the Griffin iTrip Auto.
I have been very please with it so far. It costs around $80 Canadian, but on eBay you can get it for a bit over $50.
Sound Quality
The sound quality is pretty good. Griffin's original iTrip is cordless and runs off the iPod's power so doesn't have a strong transmit power. The iTrip Auto runs off the car power (you need a spare cigarette lighter power port) so has lots of juice to transmit the signal. I can have the transmitter placed anywhere in my car and it works just fine.
Charges Too
This is the other reason I wanted the iTrip Auto. It charges while it is plugged in as well. Apple tries to rip you off with the video iPods by not even giving you an AC Adaptor or any other way to charge it than the USB cord which plugs into your computer. The Apple AC adaptor is $40 and so is the car charger I believe.
With the iTrip Auto, you already have the charger built in, so you don't have to worry. I then went and purchased an AC to DC converter on eBay for $10 and just take my iTrip into the house when traveling and plug it to charge it there.
This is off topic, but if you want another option for a wall charger, Kensington makes an universal international plugin adaptor with USB port. It is $40 on dell.ca, but you can get it for $20 sometimes on the Dell Days of Deals. This is the same price as the Apple wall adaptor and this one is a travel adaptor for different countries. There is no comparison and the unit is pretty small too.
Pick Your Station
Just pick your station, press the Select button, and tune your radio into it. It is that simple.
Not as Portable
The one bad point is that the iTrip Auto is reliant on being plugged in. If it isn't, it can't power the transmitter. So it is not portable like the older iTrip.
Where is the Backlight?
If it is powered from the cigarette lighter, there is endless power. I don't know why they didn't put a backlight on the LCD display for the station selector. I know you don't use it often, but when I'm on road trips, I frequently go through towns where I need to adjust it because of interference. You have to turn on the interior light of the car to see what the station is set to. This is minor but would have been nice.
Summary
Overall, I would say it is a good buy. If you don't care for it to be that portable and you would like a car charger then this is a great two in one. Don't buy it in the store though, find one one eBay or a discount electroncis dealer online for a better price.
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